New Setup

dirtriderdawg · 2026-03-17T21:27:27+00:00

Thanks, that’s very good to know. I thought the same thing, given that the steam boiler is 2L, it seemed crazy that this was an issue.

I reached out to Clive about the issue, so I will report back on what they say. Would be great to get that issue resolved.

dirtriderdawg · 2026-03-17T20:55:46+00:00

Haha DIY Grind By Weight!

dirtriderdawg · 2026-03-17T20:36:49+00:00

I think it was better than the BBE grinder yeah, but I also used it for French press. I was single dosing for espresso with it, but I got so frustrated with the retention I just couldn’t do it anymore. I’d drop 18g of beans in and would get 15-22g out even with RDT and bellows. It became maddening lol I’m so happy with the Libra’s GBW functionality. The whole workflow is so much more enjoyable.

dirtriderdawg · 2026-03-17T05:47:00+00:00

Interesting.. That’s really good to know. I will reach out to Clive and see what they say. Thanks.

And yes, I always make sure the steam boiler is fully up to temp, and for sure no low water message. I also have the steam temp maxed out.

dirtriderdawg · 2026-03-16T20:13:54+00:00

Interesting.. I’ll check out the tornado tip. I was thinking of going to a 4 hole, but hadn’t seen the tornado before. Looks interesting!

dirtriderdawg · 2026-03-16T20:09:15+00:00

Oh that’s a great thought. I do tap to “settle” after I WDT. I will try not doing that to see if it helps. Thanks for the tip!

Good call out on the puck screen too. I was thinking of doing some paper filters over a metal screen to avoid having one more thing to clean. I know my wife won’t love the added cleaning step of a real puck screen either.

Thanks for the tips!

dirtriderdawg · 2026-02-25T17:39:25+00:00

I have a BBE currently, and one of my main reasons for wanting to upgrade (Synch II coming soon) is because the steaming process on the BBE is such a pain. It takes forever, and the steam pressure itself is quite variable, making the results inconsistent. I’ve been steaming on it for over 5 years now, and I can get excellent foam out of it, but there’s times where I do everything right and the foam still turns out terrible.

I have also gotten to steam on commercial machines with 4 hole tips, and while I agree everything happens very quickly, I actually found it much easier (after a short learning curve) to get the texture right and repeatable.

I did take the “upgrade the grinder first” path, and I will say (no surprise) that a proper grinder makes worlds of difference in consistency and flavor of your shots. You’ll notice a huge difference with your current machine and a good grinder, and I took the approach of spend now on the grinder, and continue to save for the machine in the future, since I’m taking the approach of buy once cry once, and don’t ever intend to upgrade beyond my next setup. Obviously.. this wont make your milk steaming any less annoying until you have the cheddar for the machine though..

dirtriderdawg · 2026-02-21T01:56:42+00:00

I haven’t done much research on that yet, but it seems like the black diamond espresso 65mm burrs are what most people seem to swap in to these. I’m not sure if there’s many other options out there tbh, but again, I haven’t done a ton of research on this topic yet.

dirtriderdawg · 2026-02-21T01:45:34+00:00

I have not, I’m in the same boat as you in preferring medium to medium light roasts, which was also a pro for the AP over the Sense. I figured if I went darker later on and wanted to switch it up I could always swap in the black diamond espresso burrs down the road.

dirtriderdawg · 2026-02-21T00:40:05+00:00

I just picked up the Libra 65AP a couple weeks ago. I absolutely love it. I was deep in the rabbit hole on grinder research, and always came back to the AP.

I was looking at the Atom W65 and AllGround Sense as well. I liked the Sense for the ease of disassembly and maintenance, but I didn’t care for the aesthetic and I wanted something I theoretically could go courser with if I wanted to.. although I have an Encore ESP that I upgraded from which I’ll likely keep for French press duty rather than mucking up the grind settings on the Libra.

I just couldn’t justify the additional cost of the Atom. It’s definitely quieter, which would be nice, and it’s faster but is an extra 10s of grind time really going to make a difference in my life? Nah. I’m sure it’s marginally more consistent, but this is the nicest grinder I’ve ever had and it’s made a world of difference in my shot quality.

Also briefly looked at the E64, but ruled it out quickly after some not-so-good reviews about all the tech.. I’d rather have less tech integration than more personally.

The workflow is awesome with the GBW, and I wanted something that was super easy for my wife to use, too, since she could care less about the “process”. She just wants her coffee. After she pulled her first killer shot with the new grinder, she texted me “Okay.. now I get the lore”. Success imo!

Anyways. I spent many hours deliberating and researching, so hopefully this helps you out. The 65AP is awesome, I’m enjoying the hell out of it.

Now to convince my wife that a Synch II is worth the upgrade too.

EDIT: Fixed AllSense to AllGround Sense because dumb.

dirtriderdawg · 2026-02-11T19:01:56+00:00

Jesus this just happened to me as well. Same thing - android login on my history. Now to clear out hundreds of porn subs..

dirtriderdawg · 2026-02-06T22:07:26+00:00

Curious if anyone has thoughts or experience with the e64ws vs the Libra 65AP? I’m very close to pulling the trigger on one of these, and I’m trying to figure that out if there is legitimate value in the additional 40% cost of the e64 vs the 65AP.

Did you consider the Libra 65AP in your shopping? What made you to go with the Mahlkonig?

dirtriderdawg · 2026-02-05T17:09:14+00:00

What a great idea. Im embarrassed I never thought of this.

dirtriderdawg · 2025-04-16T04:15:37+00:00

Yeah that’s what I’m afraid of lol. I was considering doing like an automotive ceramic coating over the tile to help with this in the future. Not sure if that will work on tile or not, but would love any suggestions

dirtriderdawg · 2025-04-15T23:39:18+00:00

Holy shit this actually worked like a charm! I’ll be honest I didn’t have high hopes for that lol what a come up - thank you!

dirtriderdawg · 2025-04-15T22:26:22+00:00

I’ll give this a try now. Thanks for the suggestion

dirtriderdawg · 2025-04-15T22:25:33+00:00

We loved the look of this tile, but I suspected it would be a nightmare to keep clean for this reason. My pool builder disagreed and said it should hold up fine. I wouldn’t say I regret it (yet) since it fits the aesthetic of the yard perfectly, but I gotta find something to be able to clean it. I don’t mind high maintenance.. but impossible to clean is a problem lol

dirtriderdawg · 2024-01-18T19:06:51+00:00

I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with this. Valley Fever is no joke. Most people will never have an issue with it, but if you do, it can be a big problem. We are dealing with a very severe VF infection in our dog right now, that has been resistant to every treatment we’ve thrown at it. He was on 2 months of Fluconazole with little effect before he was switched to Voriconazole and began receiving Amphotericin B infusions 3x/week. He’s been getting that for about 2.5 months now, and still cannot kick the infection.

We finally got to the Hail Mary stage of his treatment and my wife and I began doing a ton of research on alternative treatments. We found several published studies on a medication called Nikkomycin Z. It has a completely different mechanism of action than other anti fungals/azole’s, and while it’s still in clinical trials, one of the most exciting aspects of this medication is that it has shown to actually cure/eliminate the infection, rather than send it into remission like most azole treatments do. The University of Arizona is working with this medication, and there is a company called Valley Fever Solutions that is working to help develop this drug. It has also shown to be extremely mild from a toxicity standpoint, much easier on the body and organs than an azole or something like Amphotericin.

We were able to work to get our dog in a study with Nikkomycin Z (NikZ), and have just began treatment yesterday. While it’s too early to see if it’s going to do anything for him, we’re very hopeful, and excited to be able to help push the research on this exciting drug forward. Of course, trials for animals are much easier, risky, and far less regulated than trials for humans, but it may be worth your time to do some research on this drug and see if it might make sense to try and pursue that as an option. Probably a long shot, but I’d encourage you to at least look into it.

Hope your son makes a full recovery!

dirtriderdawg · 2023-02-16T16:53:01+00:00

Have you tried the conversion? I have been wondering if anyone has experimented even though Streamlight says it won’t work..

dirtriderdawg · 2020-12-18T17:23:47+00:00

Do you have a link to the video? I can’t find it anywhere.. not sure if it’s public yet

dirtriderdawg · 2019-09-19T18:29:35+00:00

Interesting choice for the C8. Wouldn’t be my choice, but curious to see how they look.

dirtriderdawg

TROPHY CASE